Concepts and Approaches to Institutional
Development:
The Organization

Heba
El-Shazli

The
Learning Organization

There
is a simple exercise called the Hidden Triangle which is often
used in training sessions: it shows a diagram consisting of a number of
intertwined triangles and the participants are asked to guess how many
there are. Usually, the answers lie within a wide range of numbers. The
meaning of this exercise is to discourage people from jumping to early
conclusions. Whenever looking at a situation or a problem, one should
take the time to conduct a careful analysis before making a decision.
The same exercise shows that when people work in groups they are more
likely to come up with the right answer, because they need to consult
with each other and agree on a number. It is the same situation with a
problem; one person alone might get caught up in details and get confused,
whereas working together with others will lead to the integration of different
perspectives and ultimately, a solution.

The
term learning organization is taken from a book entitled The
Fifth Discipline - The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization,
which introduces a quite interesting concept by looking at an organization
as a learning organization. The underlying idea is that people can continually
expand their capacity in organizations that nurture new and expansive
thinking and collective action, i.e., one is constantly learning as a
body (organization), not as an individual. This joint learning process
also extends to the ways and means of working together, as a team, towards
accomplishing a common goal.

This
concept of a learning organization is called Metanoia, a Greek
word that means shift of mind (meta = above or beyond,
noia = mind) and usually refers to a fundamental change. In a learning
organization this shift of mind implies a different way of
looking at situations. Learning processes are often accompanied or followed
by a change in values, thoughts, and perspectives, because learning creates
new ideas and allows things to appear in another light. When learning
something  whether as an individual or an organization  one
usually applies it to his own situation and, consequently, changes accordingly.
For a learning organization this basically means to continually expand
its capacity in a future-oriented manner, i.e., by looking for new answers
and ways of performing and operating, guided by the overall objective
of the organization.

Learning
organizations are based on a system of thinking that helps in allowing
the organization to prosper and grow. The four main elements are:

Personal
mastery
Mental models
Shared vision
Team learning

Personal
Mastery

There
are different concepts pertaining to personal mastery but they have two
elements in common: reason and intuition. The integration of these two
elements is the basis of personal mastery. One cannot operate totally
on reason or totally on intuition. Organizations do not operate in a vacuum,
disconnected from the world, but within a society or certain community.
Personal mastery means fostering the compassion and commitment that drive
an organization, not for the sake of the organization alone but also for
the sake of others. An NGO working on the environment, for example, is
seriously and emotionally committed to protecting the environment.

Mental
Models

A
mental model is an image in ones mind; it is not necessarily articulated
but it still affects a persons behavior and perception of the world
and has an effect on how decisions are made. For example, a look at my
passport shows an Egyptian name on an American passport - this forms a
mental model, which is especially relevant in situations such as boarding
a plane. A mental model can be developed by the mere name of an organization,
a skin color, a political affiliation or any other feature that creates
a certain stereotype.

Within
a learning organization, people constantly deal with mental models and
search for ways to get over or change them; for example, changing the
communitys view of a certain issue or prevailing stereotypes could
well be the goal of an organization.

Shared
Vision

A
shared vision is not an idea, such as freedom or liberty, but rather a
force in peoples minds. It may be inspired by an idea or a belief
but once it goes further and is compelling enough to acquire the support
of more than one person, it changes from an abstract idea or belief into
one that is shared. The story of Spartacus, who was the head of
all slaves and led their rebellion against slavery, is a good example:
when the rebels were surrounded by the Roman army and the Romans, who
were searching for Spartacus, asked everyone "Are you Spartacus?"
all the slaves said yes because they shared his vision of liberty and
freedom and, thus, embodied the image of Spartacus.

A
learning organization has to be clear about what it wants, i.e., what
its objectives are. From there it will derive its vision, shared by all
those involved in the organization. NGOs usually stand for a particular
cause, which makes working in them more than just a job; if employees
have a shared vision in which they truly believe, they are more dedicated,
committed, and passionate about what they do and where their organization
is heading.

A
shared vision is very important for a learning organization because it
means bringing everyone together to learn and progress as one body. A
shared vision fosters risk-taking and experimentation among the employees
because they know that they are not working alone and with sole responsibility
toward a particular goal.

In
order to build a shared vision among a group of people, all of whom have
their own ideas, their personal views must be heard, discussed and combined
into one vision that is agreed upon and shared by everyone. The starting
point is the objective an organization wants to accomplish, which is also
the reason and justification for its initial establishment.

Team
Learning

Working
in teams is a very important concept and part of the learning organization.
Team learning is a process of aligning and developing the capacity of
a group in order to create the results its members truly desire. To be
a team is simple, but to act and work as a team is not. Team learning
builds on the discipline of developing a shared vision, on personal mastery,
compassion, and so forth. The notion of a team implies that the members
sacrifice their individuality for the end vision, i.e., to jointly achieve
a common goal. A jazz band, for example, consists of musicians, all of
whom are talented and play their instrument beautifully, but what really
matters is that they know how to play together. It is the same with a
team in a work place: it is the sum of the parts that counts. Employees
might be extremely talented people, but if they are unable to work as
a team because of their egos and personal ambitions, the talent is wasted.
To work in a team means to leave the egos outside the door, which is particularly
important in the Middle East where education, social status and titles
bear a lot of weight. This is where good leadership is needed: the manager
or leader should be able to inspire and guide the team. Leadership 
be it in an organization or in politics - comes from the people that are
behind the leader and back what he stands for. The leader functions as
the spokesperson for the people, while his ideas and support are always
derived from the masses.

Team
learning has the following three critical dimensions:

The
need to think insightfully about complex issues;

The
need for innovative and coordinated action;

The
role of team members in other teams.

The
last point refers to the fact that one often finds more than one team
in an organization, working on different, sometimes overlapping, issues.
This provides a good opportunity to learn from and coordinate with the
other teams. Team learning also involves dealing effectively with the
forces opposing productive dialogue and discussion in working teams.

There
is an important distinction between dialogue and discussion that one should
be aware of. Dialogue is a truly open, free flow of ideas, a brainstorming,
where everybodys ideas are heard. Discussion is a kind of competition
where one side tries to convince the other side of his point of view.
The word dialogue stems from the Greek dialogos, which means a
free-flowing of meaning through a group and the groups capacity
to suspend assumption and to enter into joint thinking in order to discover
insights not attainable by individuals. Discussion has its roots in percussion
and concussion and literally means a heaving of ideas, back
and forth. It is more of a win or take all competition. Thus, in teamwork
people should dialogue rather than discuss. A decision, eventually, should
be based on a dialogue and then made following discussion. A dialogue
can lead to a very fruitful discussion.

Needs
Assessment

When
an organization is first established, a decision is made regarding the
type of work or service to be provided. The first main step is to do a
needs assessment, which is more of an investment than an expense because
a good needs assessment of the situation at hand will, in the long run,
save much money, time, and efforts. There are six basic steps in performing
a needs assessment:

Defining
the agenda. (Why you are doing what you want to do? Why is there a need?)

Identifying
the necessary data. (What kind of information is needed?)

Selecting
the method for gathering the data.

Collecting
the data.

Analyzing
the collected data.

Putting
all information into a report, a mission statement, etc.

The
main method used for gathering information is conducting a survey, be
it in the form of face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, or written
questionnaires.

Another
method of analysis or assessment is benchmarking, which is used
in the corporate world to analyze a single organizational element for
an entire organizations operation. For example, one may look at
how the secretary answers the phone, and if she uses the proper etiquette,
etc. First, the target unit or organization is analyzed and compared to
examples of success in similar areas among other organizations. Then,
methods for achieving the same results are developed. This method is also
called discrepancy modeling, meaning that objectives are set
in accordance with a discrepancy that has been found in a particular area.

There
are three types of benchmarking:

Competitive
benchmarking, which means to find out what everyone else is
doing in a particular area, but without their participation or knowledge;
it is usually applied in the business world.

Cooperative
benchmarking, which looks at the practices in other organizations
but with their direct involvement. Based on the findings, new and valuable
ways of operating and/or improved training methods might be introduced.

Collaborative
benchmarking, whichis a means of working together with
other organizations that have similar needs, leading to the organization
of joint training programs, for example.

When
assessing an organizations needs, it is absolutely crucial to first
clearly understand the current situation of the organization. Comparing
oneself with others without having acquired this basic understanding can
easily lead to a waste of resources and time. Once the problem areas have
been identified, the easy, manageable ones should be tackled first. This
leads to success and will set a good pace and a model for the more difficult
tasks ahead.

Once
an organization has done its needs assessment and written its mission
statement, it needs to find the talent to help accomplish its goals. The
next step is therefore the management and development of the human resource.

The
Environment

The
environment around an organization relates to many issues such as public
relations, relations with donors, networking, and advocacy. Communication
is a very important tool and there should be an open channel of communication
with everyone related to the organization, be it members, clients, beneficiaries,
funders, etc. Communication is a means of public relations and an important
way to influence public opinion. There are many ways or techniques to
get a particular message out to the community in order to inform it or
prepare it for events where action is required (e.g., organizing strikes
in the case of trade unions). Oral forms of communication include giving
a speech or an interview, conversing with relevant actors or holding public
debates. Written forms of communication include writing headlines and
articles, publishing newsletters and press-releases, as well as the design
and distribution of leaflets and posters for special events.

With
regard to printed materials it is always important to identify the who,
what, where, when and how and to include contact names, phone numbers
and the date of release. The purpose should be immediately clear to the
readers, i.e., the main idea or point should be right at the beginning.
The text should be limited to the subject in question and cover only items
that are directly related to the main theme. Furthermore, the text should
follow a logical system, use concrete terms, and avoid extraneous words,
too many supporting details, and long sentences that divert the reader
from the message. The headline should attract the readers immediate
attention, be simple in form, larger in size than the rest of the text,
and clear in meaning.

A
successful press strategy can mobilize public opinion and allow good work
to be easily recognized; a properly prepared press release therefore can
be very effective. It should be printed on official letterhead, indicate
the release date, be precise and logical in content, easily understood
and factual. Press releases should be widely distributed, be it via mail,
fax, e-mail, or distribution at news conferences or any other event.